Number of childless American women in their 40s has risen sharply since 1970s

[BUTTERFLY: Nature Club of India]

Number of childless American women in their 40s has risen sharply
since 1970s
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062500188.html

By Donna St. George
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 25, 2010

Nearly one in five American women in her early 40s is childless,
according to a report that shows a striking increase in women who
don't have biological children.

The trend was much less common in the 1970s, when one in 10 women did
not have children by 40 to 44, the age bracket researchers use to
designate the end of childbearing years.

The report, released Friday by the Pew Research Center, cites social
and cultural shifts behind the change, including less pressure to have
children, better contraceptive measures and expanded job opportunities
for women.

"I certainly think it's notable that there is such a large increase in
the share of women who do not have children for whatever reasons,"
said D'Vera Cohn, a coauthor of the study. She said that some women
were childless by choice; others wanted children but could not have
them. A "very, very small number" would go on to have children, she
said.

"The fact that nearly one of five women does not have a child of her
own -- that's an enormous transformation from the past," Cohn said.

Although the trend largely held true across races, ethnicities and
education levels, one exception was among women with advanced degrees
-- a master's or higher -- who were more likely to give birth. In
1994, 31 percent were childless in their 40s. In 2008, 24 percent
were.

This may reflect a growing belief that women can have both a career
and a family, said Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox, a sociologist at the
University of Florida. She that in the 1990s, "it was more difficult
to try to do both, and now there is a cultural shift that has made it
more feasible to have a career while still also having a family."

She also said that professional women often have more resources to
take advantage of infertility treatments.

The Pew report shows that the shift was opposite for women with less
than a high school diploma. In 1994, 9 percent of that group was
childless. In 2008, that figure was 15 percent -- an increase of 66
percent, says the report, which notes general trends in delaying
marriage and childbearing.

Overall, the report found that white women are more likely to be
childless, as are women with more education. The analysis, based
largely on census data, comes amid changing attitudes about women who
do not have children.

In 1988, 39 percent of those interviewed as part of the General Social
Survey said they didn't think people without children "lead empty
lives." By 2002, that figure was 59 percent.

The number of women without biological children is much larger than it
once was, with 1.9 million childless women in 2008, compared with
580,000 in 1976.

The Pew study explored biological childbearing and did not touch on
whether women had adopted children or stepchildren.

Childless women are as happy as women who had children at typical
ages, said Amy Pienta, a researcher at the University of Michigan who
coauthored a study on the subject. "They are not any more depressed;
their psychological well-being is just as high," she said.